VietNamNet Bridge – Bottled drinks with the label “functional food” and alcohol concentrations of up to 35 percent are regularly served at street shops and luxurious restaurants.

The functional food with… 35 percent alcohol concentration

These alcoholic drinks have sold like hot cakes because they have been introduced by sellers, and even certified by appropriate agencies, as “functional food” or “supplemental food”– that is, food which promotes health and prevents disease.

Dat Viet reporters have found that some of the “functional food” products have alcohol content of 33 percent, while for some specific products that number approaches 40 percent.

However, the drinks have been favored by many consumers, including those who suffer from liver disease. They believe they are drinking reinforced tonics made of Vietnamese traditional herbs and mild wine.

One of the factors that makes the “alcoholic functional food” favorite is that the products, advertised as magic tonic, are not expensive at all. A bottle of drinks, with attractive design, eye-catching colors and aromatic odor, sells for VND100,000-150,000.

An analyst has commented that the manufacturers try to deceive consumers by labeling their products as functional food. The words “functional food” and “liquor” sometimes can be seen on the same labels. As such, the manufacturers have deliberately classified liquor as functional food, thus leading to the misunderstanding.

It is understandable why the manufacturers try to equate functional food with liquor. Under the current laws, liquor and beer products bear VAT (value added tax) and luxury taxes of 50 percent at minimum. Meanwhile, functional food products are imposed only a 10 percent VAT as committed by Vietnam when it officially joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The drunker you get, the healthier you are

When a Dat Viet reporter asked promotion girls introducing a new brand of alcohol why the wine product was labeled as functional food, the girls said that the wine can be used as a kind of herbal medicine.

“It is a kind of tonic, very good for your liver. It helps eliminate toxins from your body,” a girl said.

Some alcoholic drinks have also been advertised on Vietnam National Television, which has tens of millions of viewers everyday. The ads claim that the drinks help “rejuvenate  the liver” and “detoxify”

A product with alcohol content of 33 percent has been advertised as containing precious herbs which make it a kidney and liver tonic, and good for the circulatory system.

A pharmacist said he never learned at school about wines for liver rejuvenation and toxin elimination.

It is obvious that the advertisements are totally opposed to the recommendations by the Ministry of Health that people should not drink too much liquor with alcohol concentrations of 30 percent and higher, as this may lead to cirrhosis of liver and death.

However, the alcoholic drinks advertised as functional food still can be sold in the open, because their magic features as functional food have been certified by the state management agencies.

Dat Viet